The Nuggets stomped the Knicks during a Friday night game in late March. Before the visiting team ran away with the W, though, Trey Lyles made a statement by bringing out a pair of “All-Star Game” Kobe 6s.
“Yeah, I’ve had them for a while,” Lyles said about the “ASG” 6s after the game. “I’ve got a lot of stuff, a lot of old ones. The 6s were always my favorite so I got a lot of those that I haven’t worn yet.”
Lyles has been playing in Kobes ever since he was going to school at Arsenal Tech High School in Indianapolis, Indiana.
“I started collecting Kobes in, probably, my sophomore year of high school,” the now 23 year old said. “He’s always been my favorite player and I always liked playing in his shoes. I just tried to get and wear as many as possible.”
Lyles continued to rep the Mamba during his lone season at the University of Kentucky.
Lyles wore heat on the low during his first two seasons with the Jazz. He played against his idol the night that #24 went for 60 points. Lyles rocked the “Del Sol” 6s during that game and continued to hoop in a couple of burners over the next few years.
But it wasn’t until this season that he really started to flex the collection he’s been working on since high school.
“It’s more art for me,” Lyles said about his kicks. “You get to show off your artistic side. It’s another way to express who you are as a person. Coming up, in Indy where I went to high school, the first thing people look at is your sneakers. I always tried to make sure I had a nice pair to walk around in and a nice pair to hoop in.”
Lyles has hooped in Kobe 3s, Kobe 4s, Kobe 5s, Kobe 6s, Kobe 9s and Kobe AD Mids this year, quietly, steadily rocking a stable of rare pairs.
“I try to get as much 6s, 4s and 3s as I can,” he said. “I think the 3s are underrated.”
Lyles brought the 3s out earlier in the season against the Kings.
“Those are the only ones I’ve worn so far,” he says about the 3s. “I’ve got a couple other pairs I was waiting on. I’m gonna pull them out for the playoffs.”
Lyles mentioned that it’s difficult for him to always find good pairs. Size 15 usually marks the cutoff for readily available pairs. Lyles wears a size 16. The “hundred-something” pairs of Kobes that he has have been a labor of love.
“It’s harder for me to find them. But when I do I jump on them.”
Lyles counts the “Grinch” 6s as his favorite pair.
“It took me forever to get a pair of the ‘Grinch’ 6s,” he said. “I finally got a pair of those this year. I wore those a couple of times earlier this year. Those are probably my favorite shoes.”
The Nuggets locker room was starting to settle down. The team was headed to Indiana right after the Knicks game and Lyles said that he was planning to go through his stash in time for the playoffs.
“I’m gonna start bringing some more out,” he says. “We go to Indy so I have a bunch of stuff there that I’m gonna bring out to Denver once we go back. I’m definitely gonna heat-en the rotation up a little bit.”
Max Resetar is an Associate Editor at SLAM. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.
